The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) under the Ministry of Women and Child Development has suggested a roadmap to the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) on re-engaging out-of-school-children.
During the consultation process, it was felt there was no uniform definition of drop-out children as every State has its own criteria and this was impacting the process of reducing the drop-out rate in the country which stands at 40 per cent till Class VIII. The MHRD has communicated to all States that if a child is absent from school for 30 consecutive working days, he should be treated as a drop-out.
Assessment
The Madras High Court has directed the School Education Department to conduct an assessment to ascertain how many students opt for vocational courses and whether there are sufficient instructors for such vocational courses in schools in the state.
The Jharkhand Education Project Council has issued directives to department officials in every district to organise various events at the school, district and state level for skill development of teachers and students in December and January.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the school education department to install biometric devices in all local body and aided schools across the state. The move is aimed at helping the government keep a check on the actual number of students registered in these schools.
The State Platform for Common School System — Tamil Nadu has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an appeal to allow States to pursue their own policy on education.
Kadiam Srihari, deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister of Telangana revealed a plan to introduce grading and ranking for residential schools in the State from the next academic year. The Government’s vision is to develop them into the most sought-after schools on a par with top private institutions. This will involve digitisation of schools and better infrastructure by allocating larger budgets.
Online Courses
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, non-profit organisation cross the hurdles has launched online courses to eliminate, or at least reduce, the disparity in access to quality education for children with severe and multiple disabilities.
Educators
A recent survey by the School leaders Network, reveals almost 50 per cent of the respondent principals feel that the availability of quality teachers dedicated to their calling was a challenge for them. The survey also showed that 80 per cent of school principals do not find the time to teach in the classroom.
The Delhi Government has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to provide specialised training to its heads of schools of the 1,024 schools run by the Directorate of Education. Under the MoU, IIM-A will administer an intensive course for all principals on school leadership during the course of next 18 months.
— Courtesy Central Square Foundation